I attended a rock concert in Jakarta alone, and it was the safest I’ve ever felt at a public event.
Marielle Descalsota/Insider
Most concerts I’ve been to serve alcohol, but the rock concert I attended in Jakarta was dry. Instead, concert-goers were downing coffees from Starbucks and cans of Coke. Due to boozy crowds at the concerts I’d gone to in the past, I’ve often woken up with bruises from being shoved by other fans.
I was initially anxious about traveling to another country to attend a concert alone as a woman, but my concerns were quickly alleviated in Jakarta. I’m a big fan of the Japanese band One Ok Rock, who are known for their powerful rock songs like “We Are” and “The Beginning.”
I had initially tried to get tickets in Singapore and Malaysia, but they were quickly sold out. I wasn’t about to miss my favorite band’s first concert since the pandemic, so I decided to fly to Jakarta — where I managed to snag a Category 1 ticket — to see them. My partner and family were unable to take time off from work to come with me, so I had to go alone.
People there were extremely orderly, with no sloppy drunk behavior — which, from my experience, is the main reason people behave badly at public events.
Most concertgoers were male, but they gave me at least half a foot of space in the standing pit. There were thousands of concertgoers that night, and the heat in the mosh made me feel queasy at one point. But one fan even handed me a cup of water when he saw that I wasn’t doing too well, which left me assured that I could let my guard down and enjoy the music.
Overall, Jakarta has become one of my favorite cities in the region and one that I would recommend to solo female travelers. Just make sure to learn some Bahasa Indonesia — it really goes a long way with locals.
